Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Introducing

My finished rail fence quilt.  It is made completely from scraps. The rule of the quilt was to add everything. Ugly, bright, pretty, novelty, holiday, everything. Sew together randomly.  the only order I added is that I tried to keep two pieces of the same fabric separate in each rail fence.  When putting the rail fences together, it was okay to put two pieces of the same fabric next to each other. Each block finishes at three inches. I started it more than a year ago as a Leader and Ender project.  As I worked on other projects, I would cut up some fabric for this one as well as the other project. , but decided to work on it more diligently this fall.  I brought out some scrap boxes and added some older scraps.  I added some pink for Barb and green for Tanya. I kept deciding I wanted to make it bigger, and added more and more scraps.  Then it needed more patterned fabrics, and then it needed more brights. I am very happy with the finished size. 54" x 61". It is a large lap quilt.


There is diagonal quilting through the body of the quilt and scallops on the borders.  I didn't use any marking lines, so they aren't perfectly straight.


Even the backing and binding is "scrap" in that the fabrics were used on other quilts. I added the leftover rail fences and other bright fabric to add interest.

It feels like a door has opened for me, since I can now make a new quilt.  So many possibilities!  I have decided I am going to work on Kate's Another Little Quilt Swap next.  I will be making one or two little quilts to swap with others.  I have lots of ideas about what to do for those.  I think I should be able to get the backing pieced for the Simply Squares quilt in between making the little quilts.

6 comments:

Michele Bilyeu said...

So happy to meet 'you'! And congratulations to you, Miss Quilter all set for the New Year! That is just great. I love scrappy quilts more than anything and this one is lovely! Good size, too!

Paula, the quilter said...

Woo hoo - a finish! It looks good. Is it for you or are you giving it away?

Allie said...

What a great way to close out the year - I love this quilt, so bright and cheerful! And it does prove that no fabric looks bad in a scrappy quilt. LOVE it!

Lynda said...

It always amazes me that scrap quilts look so great! This one is gorgeous! I too use your method of a little bit of selection, not with individual strips, but to keep the overall mix of the quilt balanced.

Julie in the Barn said...

I love your year end quilt. I must make a rail fence. What a great way to use up all the oddball fabrics. These look like 2" finished strips...right? I have an overflowing bin of strips already cut. This would be the perfect leader/ender project for me.

Debra Dixon said...

I always forget about rail fence when I think about scrap quilts. It's such a great pattern and I love your interpretation!